ABDEEN PALACE IN CAIIRO, EGYPT

Abdeen palace is considered the jewel of the 19th century architecture in Cairo.When Khedive Ismail Pasha - grand' son of Mohamed Ali - came to power in 1863, Egypt was engaged already i

Abdeen palace is considered the jewel of the 19th century architecture in Cairo.

When Khedive Ismail Pasha - grand' son of Mohamed Ali - came to power in 1863, Egypt was engaged already in the building of the Suez Canal which was due to open in

1869 For this occasion, Egypt was supposed to receive dignitaries from different countries of the world and Khedive estimated that Cairo with its 10th century Fatimid capital was not ready to accommodate such event He bought the small palace of Abdeen Bey, a member of the Mamlouk corps, along with its surroundings, demolished

it and used the whole area to build the Abdeen palace we know today.

The palace was designed in a Neo-Classical French

inspired style The chief architect that supervised the

construction was the French architect Leon Rousseau.

The palace was composed of two floors The upper floor

contained both the Salamlek (the main quarter) and the

Haramlek (Family quarter), which contradicted the old

tradition of separating them in different buildings The

ground floor was dedicated to the different services such

as guards quarters, storerooms etc

Abdeen palace witnessed the succession of the

Egyptian rulers starting with Khedive Ismail followed by

Khedive Tewfik, then Khedive Abbas Helmi II, Sultan

Hussein Kamel, King Fouad and finally King Farouk

During every reign, the palace had witnessed important

The Gate of Paris

Inside the palace, the Red sitting-room for official delegations

The sitting- room of

the house

The Byzantine

Hall(Part 1)

Used to receive the guests before entering the dance

The Byzantine

Hall(Part 2)

The Throne Hall

Where the coronation

of the king takes place

In 1938, during the reign of King Farouk, the Palace witnessed his fairy wedding to queen Farida in the Throne hall In the same year, the palace hosted the Royal wedding of princess Fawzia, sister of king Farouk, to the Iranian crown prince Mohamed Reza Pahlavi

Wedding ceremony of Princess Fawzia, to the Crown Prince of Iran, the future Shah

King Farouk, Queen Farida and Princes Ferjal

Wedding of Farida with

King Farouk

The Theatre

The Mohamed Ali Hall

Corridor

to the Mohamed Ali Hall

The Theatre

Contains hundreds

of seats painted in

gold and sitting

rooms for women

with red curtains

on the side

The Belgian Pavilion

(View 1)

Devoted to

the establishment

of guests of Egyptian rulers.

The Belgian Pavilion

(View 2)

King’s mother Pavilion (View 1)

Was the room of Queen Nazli, mother of King Farouk

Office of the President (View 1)

Located in the hall of the Suez Canal, which has been prepared to commemorate the digging of the Suez Canal It is decorated with

Office of

the President

(View 2)

Office of

the President

(View 3)

The Gardens

(View 1)

Spread over

20 acres planted with citrus and flowers

The Gardens (View 2) The Tea Kiosk

“koshk el shay” as they used to call it.

The Gardens

(View 3)

The Music Kiosk

The Gardens

(View 4)

The Music Kiosk

(Close view)

The lower floors of the Palace contain the Silver Museum, the Arms Museum, the Royal Family Museum, and the Presidential Gifts Museum A new museum, the Historical Documents Museum

A Memorial

The Firearms hall

1 A Japanese sulphur-lit rifle.

2 A carbine inlaid with coloured enamel

3 A capsule rifle bearing plant decorations

4 A hunting capsule rifle bearing bird and animals decorations (Paris, 1855)

5 A capsule carbine of Napoleon III (Paris, 19th c.)

6 A bullet carbin inlaid with gold

7 A couple of guns

A collection of rare weapons

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8

American Antiaircraft Gun A Bras Mortar on a wooden

carriage (19th century)

Medals and Decorations Museum

Private collection of rare

antiques

A collection of medals and

jewels

Master pieces of the museum

1 3

2 4

1 Gold colar of King Fouad 1

2 Gold collar inlaid with diamonds, of Mohamed Ali Pasha

3 Collar of Al Hussein Bin Ali, made of gold, inlaid with diamond

4 The Great Collar of chivalry, "Vatican"

Gold medals dedicated by

US to King

Gifts, Decorations

and Shields Dedicated to President Mubarak

1 2 3

1 Shield dedicated by Military

1 2 3 4

5 6

1 Memorial dedicated by the second field army to President Mubark

Museum of

silverware

1 Silver soup plate on a

grasps are shaped as

two parrots, Prince

Youssef Kamal

2 Jam pot with crystal pot

pedestal and grasps’

cover shaped as a fruit,

Prince Youssef Kamal

3 Crystal silver covered

jug, Prince Youssef

Kamal

4 Fruits holder decorated

with plants, fruits, birds

Khedive Ismail

5 Decorated teapot, Prince Youssef Kamal

6 Teapot for hot drinks, the cover is shaped as a fruit, King Fouad I

7 Candleholder pedestal with a statue for a peasant riding a donkey and a man beside him in the top

8 Fruits holder decorated with flowers, birds and

Masterpieces of Plastic arts by Gallieh

Photos : Travel4Arab.com & TourEgypt.net

Text : Dr Fathi Saleh, Wikipedia & TourEgypt.net

Music : Classic Egyptian by Sami Nossair

Created by : anthonymest@live.be on Sept, 2009